The Game of Shougi
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: [poetry collection] It meant something to each and every person who played the game: dead or alive, man, female, adult or child.
1. Yasuoka Shion

**A/N:** Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, Section B (501-1000 words) – prompt #006 – a poetry collection with an overarching theme. The total word count for the collection is 887 words.

And just as a side note, some of the concepts in these pieces are my headcanon for the characters. :D

* * *

**The Game of Shougi  
1. Yasuoka Shion**

The game had been her little flower  
being nurtured, slowly, into bloom  
before being splattered in blood  
and death, and a nightmarish haze

That wrote the crown upon her head,  
became her voice, her legs:  
her means for walking on

In that drying sea  
that would, soon, become moist  
once more.

But her game had been nurtured  
like that flower in the garden: watered  
with tenderness, and love

…and a soul.


	2. Saito Ayumi

**The Game of Shougi  
2. Saito Ayumi**

It was a once upon a time love for him:  
for fun, for some family time  
with a man who seemed to, over time, forget  
what a family was all about

But too quickly, it became just another thing  
he had to do, and dirty, so he could do the things  
he really need to do: that one thing  
that nobody else would do for him:  
save his mother's life

Because he loved her more than anything  
in the world, and there wasn't anything he wouldn't sully  
for her.

But she liked beautiful things  
and he knew she'd hate to know that dirt  
underneath his nails

And so it was a secret: for money,  
nothing at all.


	3. Nikaido Saori

**The Game of Shougi  
3. Nikaido Saori**

She was one of those girls who played  
because there was nothing else for her:  
just a clean new board and pieces  
smooth and slippery

But as she poured her time into it,  
her heart and soul followed suit  
and she grew to love,  
especially since there was nothing else  
to love

And she drew away from other things:  
those things that drew away from her  
she looked at, only a little –  
those distant voices on telephones,  
those distant faces at school…

She didn't even know why she'd gone on  
that long. Maybe she just hadn't been  
convicted, or in love, enough  
with that game

But when it was more than just the thing  
that took away her time,  
she had to follow suit.


	4. Hani Makoto

**The Game of Shougi  
4. Hani Makoto**

For him, it was a thing  
to be consumed by  
and he let it eat his soul.

Friends, family,  
all those things were mortal,  
weak, unfulfilled:  
he would live forever  
through an immortal kifu  
he would ride  
to even greater heights

And it didn't matter what else  
he had to drop  
or let fall.

He didn't know when  
he'd stopped  
caring, about the rest  
of the world

But it was so easy,  
to be so cold,  
so consumed.

It couldn't be important  
after all,  
if it wasn't everything  
in life.


	5. Hani Satoru

**The Game of Shougi  
5. Hani Satoru**

It was the thing that stole his brother  
further away, and that he used  
to give chase:  
inching closer every time, only  
for other to scamper ahead yet again.

It infuriated him, but it quickly became the only link  
he had, to that man: the only way to talk,  
to keep him by his side

And then he was left alone, in front of a rickety little flat  
with half-lost pieces and a broken board  
and a bitterness  
he nursed for many years to come.  
that grew even more  
when that game slowly  
soaked up blood.


	6. Yasuoka Shinji

**The Game of Shougi  
6. Yasuoka Shinji**

It was his way of reaching out  
to the world: to the people he was fond of,  
had grown to love.

It was his way of finding his heart's content  
amongst the melody of wooden pieces  
and a board.

It was his way of finding a desire  
to keep on going, keep on climbing up  
to new heights he would otherwise not dare  
to reach.

It was his way of doing a job he loved:  
working, and playing all those games  
without regret.


	7. Kamizono Osamu

**The Game of Shougi  
7. Kamizono Osamu**

He had a cold, hollow face  
on the exterior, but his heart inside  
was strong: believing  
in those rules of old.

Belief, he thought, was the most important thing:  
those principles he couldn't just  
let go.

That it wasn't just a game, just a way of life  
but something far more

But still not worth abandoning those things  
most important of all:  
beliefs were one, good beliefs  
like not giving up before the gold  
just because a little doubt had crept aside,  
but family and friends as well: that flesh and blood that tied  
one to a happier world

And it was worth defiling a pretty game  
for those things.  
They weren't meant to be pretty  
or loved  
after all.


	8. Hisatani Tooru

**The Game of Shougi  
8. Hisatani Tooru**

It was idealism  
that had first led him to play  
that game

But then he grew to it:  
to that language, those words  
that spoke to him through the board,  
that voice  
he wanted to continue to hear,  
and listen to

But maybe it wasn't enough: he hung still  
to too much doubt, but such was the world  
they were in.

He hadn't started too late  
but there was something missing  
that made him slow.

Despite,  
he loved the game.


	9. Yamamura Kyoutarou

**The Game of Shougi  
9. Yamamura Kyoutarou**

It was his way of growing still,  
going on, despite the stagnancy in the world

If it ever was: because the world always flowed  
didn't it? Became stronger, more assured  
though some things lurked in the past  
and he wanted to grab them  
and pull them forth

And he was happy, that he could make his game  
grow, take it and climb to new heights,  
chasing change  
with smiles and laughs and happiness

And the stubbornness that came  
with a senile old man  
even if he wasn't old  
or blind…

He was just a dying one  
who wanted to die with a change  
and a smile.


End file.
